Zaahen is coming to Summoners Rift very soon, and if you’re a veteran League of Legends player, you may have seen something like him before! Zaahen is a strong all-in champion who loves to get in on the enemy, deal tons of damage, and then utilise his Passive to get back out of the fight.
His kit is loaded with dashes, scaling damage, and a revive, which makes him pretty strong in any team composition. I think he will mostly be played as a solo laner, but he could also be a Jungler. Regardless of his role, he will be strong and great in mid- and late-game team fights.
Zaahen Ability Names:
- Passive: Cultivation of War
- Q: The Darkin Glaive
- W: Dreaded Return
- E: Aureate Rush
- R: Grim Deliverance
Zaahen Ability Reveal
If you’re interested in watching a video rather than reading, check out this Skin Spotlights video below!
Zaahen Ability Breakdown
Passive - Cultivation of War
Zaahen’s attacks and abilities against enemy champions grant him stacks of Determination, gaining bonus Attack Damage per stack. When filled with Determination, Zaahen gains increased Attack Damage and can revive.
Q - The Darkin Glaive
Zaahen slashes twice on his next attack, dealing bonus damage and healing himself. Zaahen can recast this ability to have his next attack deal bonus damage and knock up his target.
W - Dreaded Return
Zaahen stabs in a direction, damaging enemies hit and pulling them towards him.
E - Aureate Rush
Zaahen dashes to a location and slices around himself.
R - Grim Deliverance
Zaahen rises then stabs downward, damaging enemies and healing for a portion of the damage dealt.
My Thoughts on Zaahen’s Kit
So I definitely feel that his kit is pretty strong, and he has a lot of tools in his kit that are quite obnoxious. With that said, I'm going to show my age and how long I've been playing this game, but he reminds me exactly of old Aatrox! Aatrox had a built-in revive just like him; both are extremely good dualists and great at all-ining the enemy, and he's basically a spitting image of him!!!
From what I can tell about him so far, he will mostly be looking for those long exchanges and long-winded fights so he can make the most out of his abilities and his Passive, as getting more stacks gives him extra damage. I also think he will be great in team fights because he has tools in his kit to get in on the enemy carry and make it near impossible for them to kill him. With the revive in particular, I think ADCs will struggle to beat him.
I do feel that his kit is a bit over-tuned, so I expect Riot to nerf him a little bit. It's nice to see a champion that is somewhat simple to understand being made again. Although I think Riot should take a page out of Disney Imaginations and make something a bit more unique, as they've basically ripped off Xin Zhao's Q, among other abilities!
To Finish
I think that he is a pretty cool champion, and I can’t wait to give him a try. I do feel Riot “cheaped out” a bit, though, and they have recycled old champion abilities, most notably Aatrox and Xin Zhao. I do think he will be really strong, so I expect him to be picked or banned at the beginning once he is released.